Accolades continue to stream in for architect and UWindsor professor Jason Grossi for his work on the John Muir Public Library.

The newest branch of the Windsor Public Library is one of three recipients of the Ontario Library Association’s 2021 Library Architectural and Design Transformation Award. The award was presented at a virtual ceremony July 14.

The Mill Street building in Windsor’s historic Sandwich district opened in 2019. It is housed in a former firehall built in 1921 and a stable dating back to the 1850s. The reimagining of the heritage buildings was entrusted to Grossi, principal at Studio g+G Inc. Architect, and co-ordinator of UWindsor’s Visual Arts in the Built Environment program.

The engineer on the project was William Tape, a sessional instructor in UWindsor’s Faculty of Engineering.

Grossi said the project was a challenging one. The two buildings had different floor elevations and required the use of historic materials. Abandoned for so long, they needed considerable restoration.

Grossi retained the three-storey hose tower in the design, enclosing it in glass so it now serves as an observation tower overlooking Sandwich Town. An interior suspension bridge connects the former fire hall and stable.

The Ontario Library Association heaped praise on the adaptive reuse of the Mill Street building.

“The renovation of the historic fire hall with its glazed lantern on the hose tower and bay doors create a beacon and welcoming façade to the community,” said the judges. “The interior of the library provides a spacious flexible main space that welcomes you to explore the surrounding semi-private spaces and integrated restored 19th Century stable building. The restoration and linking of the two heritage buildings has created a contemporary branch library that welcomes its community.”

This is but the latest laurel for the project. Last year, the project was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation and the City of Windsor’s Built Heritage Award.

Grossi said he is proud of the project.

“It’s a historic place that resonates with everyone because what was once an abandoned building has become the most public of places — a public library.

“It’s a place for everybody.”

—Sarah Sacheli

The Student Success and Leadership Centre invites faculty who are planning Academic Program Orientations on Wednesday, Sept. 8, to submit their proposals no later than Friday, Aug. 7.

Program orientations, Involvement Fair, and the Welcoming Celebration are the three key events of “Welcome Day,” scheduled for Sept. 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on VFairs, the same platform used for Head Start.

“We wanted to keep all three of these events in the same platform in an effort to raise the participation at each,” says Rebecca Burkoski, interim student development specialist at the Student Success and Leadership Centre.

During Welcome Day, all program orientations will be hosted as interactive sessions in the virtual Vfairs Auditorium, similar to the Program Success Sessions at Head Start. They will be hosted through a virtual meeting of choice (e.g. Teams, Zoom, Blackboard Collaborate) of each faculty.

Following the program orientations, the Involvement Fair will showcase a variety of campus clubs, societies, services, and resources.

To end Welcome Day, the Student Success and Leadership Centre will host the virtual Welcoming Celebration, which will feature the presentation of the UWindsor Shield to the winning Welcome Week team and the $4,000 tuition bursary draw sponsored by the University of Windsor Alumni Association.

Submit a Program Orientation Form. For further information, contact Burkoski at rebecca.burkoski@uwindsor.ca.

Lancer all-star Pierce Johnson has signed a professional volleyball contract and will play with the Estonian Cup champions, Selver Tallinn.

Although he did not get to compete in his fifth year with the Lancers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson graduates as one of the most decorated athletes in program history.

A two-time winner of the Olympic Shield award as Lancer male athlete of the year, he was recognized by the league for his accomplishments on the court every year that he competed: named to the Ontario University Athletics all-rookie team, an OUA first team all-star three times, twice an all-Canadian, west division player of the year, and twice representing Canada at the Summer Universiade.

Read the full story, “Johnson signs pro contract in Estonia,” at goLancers.ca.

Wednesday, July 21, is the deadline to submit job proposals for 2021-22 Ignite Work Study positions.

Ignite is a co-curricular experiential learning program that funds part-time jobs at the University of Windsor. It is co-ordinated by Career Development & Experiential Learning in partnership with Student Awards and Financial Aid.

If approved for Ignite funding, supervisors will receive reimbursement up to $2,000 for a two-term position, $1,000 for a one-term position. Applicants whose positions receive funding will be notified by Aug. 27 and students can begin working as early as Sept. 7.

The program is open to all UWindsor students. Some restrictions apply; view the Ignite website for details. Direct questions to program co-ordinator Avy Maharaj at ignite@uwindsor.ca.

Registrations have been slow so far for a faculty-staff Trivia Night competition scheduled for Friday, July 23, organizers say.

“Maybe it’s the time of year, maybe it’s that things are opening up after pandemic restrictions,” says Kendra Thompson-Kumar, an administrative assistant in the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research and a member of the host Great Lakes Invaders team.

“Anyway, we’re still hoping that some stragglers will come on board.”

The free event will launch at 8 p.m. on the MS Teams videoconferencing platform. Teams of up to six people are invited to join, and the hosts will assign individual registrants to a crew.

To register, send your team name and a list of members to Thompson-Kumar at kendratk@uwindsor.ca.